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The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been unable to confirm the number of its members abducted in Syria, as well as where they are being held.

"We're waiting for news," Helene Afriat, communications officer for the International Confederation of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris, told Catholic News Service on Friday. She added that communication with people in the Mideast was "very difficult."

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines, has been named the new president of the Catholic Biblical Federation.

While Tagle was elected unanimously as head of the federation at an Oct. 24-25 meeting in Rome of its executive committee, Pope Francis confirmed his election March 5.

He will assume his office at the federation's plenary assembly, to take place June 18-23 in Nemi, Italy. Tagle will succeed Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who has been president of the Catholic Biblical Federation since 2002.

Baghdad's small Catholic community is celebrating the Stations of the Cross each Friday during Lent. Recently, I spoke with Fr. Khalid Marogi, an Iraqi priest about the significance of the cross to persecuted Iraqi Christians.

Offering a possible glimpse into the upcoming papal encyclical on ecology, a top Vatican official stated that disagreements over the cause of climate change do not preclude the need for action, and that religion plays a vital role in bringing about meaningful and lasting solutions.